


Finding Fido

by ASharksReadingGlasses



Series: Ghost in the NYC [4]
Category: Danny Phantom, Deadpool - All Media Types, Marvel Universe - Fandom, Spider-Man - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Depression, Friendship, Gen, Guilt, Improper Storage of Guns, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Mentions of Intrusive Thoughts, Mentions of Suicide, Protective Danny Fenton, Protective Peter Parker, Protective Wade Wilson, References to Depression, References to Suicide, References to bullying, Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-12
Updated: 2020-12-12
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:53:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,569
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28013481
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ASharksReadingGlasses/pseuds/ASharksReadingGlasses
Summary: Danny is worried aboutDeadpoolWade, so he strong-arms his way back into the safe house and resolves to stay the day despite Spider Man's protests. Danny keeps Wade company while Spider Man handles some problems in his regular, non-hero life, and a new member joins thefamilyteam.
Relationships: Danny Fenton & Peter Parker, Danny Fenton & Wade Wilson, Peter Parker/Wade Wilson
Series: Ghost in the NYC [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2045206
Comments: 99
Kudos: 989





	Finding Fido

**Author's Note:**

> Due to popular demand and some suggestions from commenters, I'm doing a story that is completely solo! But for any new readers, this story and series is based off of the comics done by [Stove](https://the-stove-is-on-fire.tumblr.com/) on tumblr. This is also going to be a reverse for me, because most of the stories in this series start of lighthearted and then get dark. I want to try and end on a happy note this time :)

Danny wasn't sure if what he was about to do would be appreciated, but screw that; he was a meddlesome teenager, it was practically his job. He hit send on his text as he walked down the street towards another Dunkin Doughnuts he saw on his way back to the hotel from yesterday, making sure to keep with the crowds as he passed particularly dark alleyways.

> **To: Arachnophobia**
> 
> Hey, how's he doing?
> 
> **From: Arachnophobia**
> 
> Could be better, but it could also be worse
> 
> He's been staying in bed but I've been keeping him company
> 
> **To: Arachnophobia**
> 
> You guys still at the safe house?
> 
> **From: Arachnophobia**
> 
> ...Yes
> 
> ?Why
> 
> Wait, Danny no
> 
> **To:** **Arachnophobia**
> 
> I'm bringing breakfast
> 
> Does Wade like doughnuts or egg wraps?
> 
> **From: Arachnophobia**
> 
> DANNY
> 
> **To: Arachnophobia**
> 
> To late, I've decided on doughnuts
> 
> What are his favorites?
> 
> **From: Arachnophobia**
> 
> ?You're really determined to do this aren't you
> 
> **To: Arachnophobia**
> 
> Hello, literal ghost kid
> 
> I'd like to see you try and stop me

Danny put his phone in his pocket when Spider-man didn't respond back and hurried towards the doughnut shop at a better pace. It was a bit harder to walk down the street than the last three days, the sidewalk over crowded with people trying to get to their morning jobs and skeleton crews making their way back home. Danny did his best to dodge people, making sure to clench down on his instinct to make himself partially intangible when he couldn't quite sidestep some people. He still had some emergency ectoplasm left over from yesterday, but he knew he had to keep some for later. He slipped inside the pastry store, surprised that it was still full at nine-thirty in the morning. As he got in line, he shot another text over to Spider Man.

> **To: Arachnophobia**
> 
> Dude, I'm at Dunkin
> 
> Seriously, what are his faves?
> 
> **...Arachnophobia is typing**
> 
> **...Arachnophobia is typing**
> 
> **From: Arachnophobia**
> 
> Boston Creme and those icing filled powdered ones
> 
> Don't know if you saw the unit number on your
> 
> way out yesterday. It's C-46. There's a buzzer
> 
> you'll have to press so I can let you in
> 
> **To: Arachnophobia**
> 
> Be there soon

When Danny got up front, he ordered five breakfast sandwiches with two sides of hash-browns for himself and a dozen of the specified doughnuts for Wade and Spider Man, the barista not even batting an eye at the amount of food in his order. He went to the end of the counter at the food window and started tapping his feet, but was surprised when they had his order out to him in less than three minutes. He took his food after going back and putting a five in the tip mug, carefully walking out to the streets and slowly retracing his steps back to the safe house so the doughnuts wouldn't get crushed. Now that Danny really had a moment to look around, he noticed that the area wasn't great, which was probably why he got nabbed yesterday. There were dumpsters and trash cans overflowing with debris, piles of cigarette butts on stoops like nobody bothered to clean them, and people gathering in three to four man groups along corners. Danny felt a slight chill down his spine and paused to drag the hood of his hoodie over his head, and patted his pockets to make sure the switch blade Wade had given him was still there.

_The next time someone grabs you and you can't use your powers, use this. You flick it open, stab it anywhere, twist it, and run._

Danny gulped and hurried towards the appropriate apartment building, pushing the correct button on the intercom console, and booking it up to the fourth floor before pausing at the safe house door. Should he knock? Turn intangible and go in? Before he could decide, the door was pulled open. The dude at the door was maybe six or seven inches taller than Danny, had short messy brown hair with buzzed sides, blue eyes, and a crooked nose that looked like it was broken a lot. He looked around thirty years old and he wore a plain grey t-shirt with loose dark blue sweat pants that dragged on the floor at the heel and white socks, and both of them paused before the guy spoke.

"Hey, Danny," The guy said _with Spider Man's voice,_ and moved aside. "Come on in." Danny walked through the door, pausing to toe off his shoes and shuffling them over by some other sneakers by the door before setting their breakfast on the table. The kitchen looked a little different from yesterday; all of the wrappers from Danny's impromptu binge were cleared off from the table, the leftover candy and snacks in a pile on the counter, and the other side was covered in a few empty beer bottles and pizza boxes. There was a muffled hum and tumble of a washing machine as Danny pulled out a chair and sat down while Spider Man leaned up against the counter by the sink, rubbing the back of his head.

"So, introductions, I guess," Spider Man said, then paused to swallow nervously. "My name is Peter Parker, and I'm Spider Man." There was an awkward pause that made the air feel tense.

And then Danny opened his stupid fucking mouth.

"You're a lot older than I thought you'd be," Danny blurted, then blushed like crazy and instantly wished he had enough power to spare to turn intangible and sink into the floor. Spider Man jolted and let out a choked bit of laughter, then crossed his arms and smiled.

"Ouch," Peter said good naturedly. "Jeez kid, you really don't pull your punches." Danny hid his face in his hands and let out a string of incomprehensible syllables.

"I didn't mean it like that," Danny whined. "I just meant-, well, you're and adult, right? Don't you have a job or something?"

"I'll call in sick," Peter replied, but Danny frowned, unsatisfied.

"You know he isn't going to get better in a day, right?" Danny asked softly. Peter flinched and his eyes trailed to the floor.

"I know," Peter whispered, "But I can't just take a week or two off on such short notice. And I have to get a doctor's note if I want to take sick leave." Danny took a moment to think as he dragged his bag of hash browns and breakfast sandwiches to himself, reaching inside to take one out.

"Tell your boss you're afraid your friend is going to commit suicide and you want to take a couple of weeks off to make sure they're okay," Danny suggested as he started to peal the wrapper off of his sandwich. Peter jolted and dragged his eyes away from the floor to shoot Danny a glare.

"Danny!" Peter said incredulously.

"What?" Danny responded quietly, glaring right back, "It's pretty much the truth! What are they going to do, tell you no? That would just make them douche bags!" Peter blinked before rubbing at his eyes.

"Even if I were to do that, I don't feel comfortable leaving you here with Wade for that long by yourself," Peter sighed. Danny bristled and ripped the paper wrapping on his sandwich loudly.

"I can keep him company for a couple of hours," Danny said harshly and took a bite. Peter stood up taller and made a step towards the table.

"Danny, no way-," Peter protested, but Danny cut him off.

"I said," Danny replied, his eyes glowing uncontrollably making Peter freeze, "I can handle it." Peter frowned and slowly went back to leaning against the counter while Danny turned his head and tried to get his powers back under control, his sandwich laying on his wrapper on the table. When Danny was sure his eyes were all set, he turned back and started picking pieces off his sandwich. "There's this ghost that haunts my school," Danny started, "His name is Sidney, and he was bullied to death in 1955." Danny paused and glanced at Peter when he shifted uncomfortably. "We didn't get along at first; we had a bit of a misunderstanding when we met. But when I was getting bullied on pretty hard, he would lead me to these hiding places around the school and we would end up talking. Sometimes I would skip class just to hang out with him if I was feeling like shit and I didn't feel like bothering my other friends. The last time I talked to him, he told me he wished I was around when he was alive, 'cause maybe then he would have graduated."

"Look Peter," Danny said. "I get it. I'm just some weird ghost kid you met three days ago. You don't have a lot of reasons to trust me, and sometimes I say stupid things. But I've been told that ghosts make pretty good listeners and I just want to make sure Wade's okay." Peter sighed wearily before walking to the other side of the table and sitting in another chair, flipping the lid off the box of doughnuts and grabbing a Boston Creme.

"If we're doing this," Peter said, brandishing the doughnut like a weapon. "We're setting some ground rules."

"Okay," Danny instantly agreed, sitting up straight.

"First," Peter started, "Wade's has some serious scars on his face that he's sensitive about; don't stare at them. Second, he gets pretty bad intrusive thoughts; Wade calls them boxes, but if you see him talking to himself, try and distract him. Third, Wade keeps guns and ammo here. I moved them all to a chest that I have the key for, and I made sure all the guns are empty. They're in a closet in the other bedroom. You still okay with this?" Danny was following everything fine until Peter mentioned guns, his hands clenching on the table and his toes curling in his socks.

"You guys don't have a gun-safe or something?" Danny asked in disbelief.

"I did the best with what I had, all right," Peter said as he finally took a bite of his doughnut, chocolate icing smearing his cheeks. "This is an emergency safe house, Danny. We only come here if one of us needs to get patched up and it's too dangerous to go home." Danny gulped and took a bite out of his sandwich to hide his nerves.

"Can I move it into the wall or under the floor, or something?" Danny asked after he chewed. "Just to be safe?" Peter blinked in surprise.

"You have enough power in your reserves for that?" Peter asked. Danny grimaced.

"I'll have to eat an entire buffet for lunch, but yeah, I can do it," Danny answered.

"In that case, help yourself to any leftovers in the fridge," Peter replied, taking another bite of his pastry and putting it down on a stray napkin before standing up. He motioned for Danny to follow him, and they walked deeper into the apartment towards the second bedroom which had a tiny bed (on top of which was Peter's Spider Man suit), a small clothes bureau and a closet. Peter opened the closet and picked up a thin-ish chest before setting it down on the floor with a thud. Danny tapped his feet on the floor looking for something that sounded hallow before he found a spot, and got on his hands and knees before turning his head and neck intangible and looking around under the floor. There was a little hallow space surrounded by insulation and pipes that was just big enough for the chest, and Danny lifted his head up to tell Peter when he heard snickering.

"What?" Danny glared.

"You just," Peter gasped out while bringing up a hand to hide his laughter, "Stuck your head through the floor like a ostrich burying its head in the sand!" Danny blushed and stood up, reaching over to pull the heavy chest into the correct position.

"What is it with you and Wade making animal comparisons!?" Danny whined as he turned the chest intangible and let it slip into the floor.

"Sorry, sorry," Peter apologized, but the smile on his face said otherwise. Danny huffed as he dusted off his hands and made his way back to the kitchen and sat at the table. Peter followed him back out, picking up his doughnut and finishing it in one bite, using the napkin to wipe his face.

"Okay, one last thing I guess," Peter said as he put his chair back. "Don't try pushing him to talk. Wade's got-, well, you could call them triggers, I guess. Just let him lead the conversation. Got it?"

"Got it," Danny confirmed, taking two quick bites to finish his sandwich and started to unwrap a second. Peter watched in bewildered and resigned amusement before shaking his head slightly.

"Okay," Peter said. "I have to change and get out of here fast if I want to make it to work." He turned back to the second bedroom and closed the door while Danny continued eating his breakfast. He made it to his fourth sandwich before Peter came back to the kitchen. His grey t-shirt was now dark blue covered up by a tan jacket, and he had changed out the sweat pants for jeans. Peter paused on the way to the kitchen and stopped by Wade's door, knocking softly.

"Wade?" He called out. "It's Peter. I have to do something real quick, but Danny's here. I'll be back soon, okay?" Peter sighed dejectedly when he didn't hear Wade reply, then swung by the table and ruffled Danny's hair. Danny squawked and tried to duck out of the way and Peter chuckled. "Thanks for keeping an eye on him, Danny," He said sincerely. "Wade might want to put his mask on when he wakes up; his suit is in the washer right now. Can you do me a favor and just hang it on a door or something when it's done?"

"No problem," Danny mumbled, trying to fix his hair as Peter walked to the door and slipped on his sneakers. He was about to continue to dig into his fourth sandwich as Peter was leaving when he stopped at the door.

"And Danny," Peter called out, making Danny pause. "You said I don't have a lot of reasons to trust you, but you've given me plenty. Don't sell yourself short." Danny blushed in shy embarrassment and nodded bashfully. Peter beamed and shut the door. When Danny was sure Peter was gone, he got up and started tidying the kitchen; throwing away the empty beer bottles and pizza boxes. After that he settled down to eat the rest of his food quickly, listening intently for any noise in Wade's bedroom. After ten minutes, Danny got up again and grabbed two doughnuts, one of each flavor, and wrapped them in a napkin before going to Wade's door. As he was about to knock, cold mist rushed past his lips and Danny resigned himself to more ghostly hiccups.

"Wade," Danny called out as he knocked. "It's Danny. I'm coming in with breakfast, so yell at me or something if you don't want me to come in." When Danny didn't hear any protests, he eased open the door and walked inside. The window that was open yesterday was obviously locked and the curtains were drawn, making room dark enough to barely see. Wade appeared huddled on his side with his back facing the door, blankets covering his head and the shade nestled behind Wade's bent knees in a shapeless blob. Another ghostly breath left Danny's mouth and the shade shivered a bit before two tiny eyes formed and watched him. Danny tiptoed over to the bed behind Wade and kicked at one of the bedposts. After a few taps, Wade stirred.

"Peter," Wade groaned, sounding like he just woke up, "For the last time, just leave me alone."

"It's Danny," Danny replied. The response was instantaneous.

"Jesus Fucking Christ on a cracker!" Wade shouted as he pushed himself up, making the shade jolt. Keeping the blankets and sheets wrapped around him, Wade swung his legs over the side of the bed and the shade quickly drifted to hover over Wade's back before plopping down on his shoulder. Wade stilled and they both took a moment to settle themselves, Wade moving his head like he was looking for something while Danny hiccuped on another mouthful of mist. "What the actual fuck are you doing here and where the hell is my mask?"

"Your suits still washing and Peter had to go to work to request some days off," Danny answered.

"Great," Wade said despondently. "Fan-freaking-tasktic. So he left you with babysitting duty, huh?"

"No," Danny answered sincerely, "I told him I wanted to make sure you were okay, and then put my shoe up his ass so he would get a few days off work." Wade let out a small, quiet chuckle, but Danny could tell he still felt uncomfortable. "Hey, is there anything I can get you?" Wade flinched slightly and paused before throwing his thumb over his shoulder, pointing to another small bureau.

"There's a zip up hoodie in the bottom drawer," Wade answered. Danny swallowed nervously then took a small step forward and put the wrapped pastries on the mattress next to Wade, pausing when Wade flinched slightly and the shade migrated to his other shoulder.

"Food is on your left," Danny said as he stepped towards the bureau, feeding the shade a very tiny amount of ectoplasm so it would stop his ghost sense from going off. He dug through the bottom drawer until he found a zip hoodie he could practically swim in and placed it next to the pastries on the bed before sitting on the floor and leaning against one of the bed posts. Danny heard the blankets rustle and the zip of a zipper as Wade shifted and put on his hoodie, then he heard the crinkle of the napkin as Wade unwrapped the pastries.

"You guys go me my favorites," Wade whispered.

"There's more in the kitchen," Danny said from the floor, deciding he would stay ducked down until Wade told him otherwise. "And I demand at least two as payment." Wade chuckled softly again before digging into the pastries. Danny waited quietly, bringing out his phone and going through his camera roll just for something to do. When he was sure Wade was finished, he decided to do something stupid.

Peter was so going to kill him for this.

"They aren't that bad," Danny said. "Your scars, I mean." Wade snorted.

"My face looks like a topographical map of Utah," he said derisively. "I doubt you've seen worse."

"Not true," Danny piped up from the floor, stretching his legs out in front of him. "I've had to fight a giant ghost made of snot before." There was a pause before Wade stifled laughter.

"You've fought an actual snot monster before?" Wade asked.

"A _ghost_ snot monster," Danny clarified smugly, putting his phone back in his pocket. "My teachers tell me it's important to be specific." When Wade let out a short bout of actual laughter, Danny grinned in victory; he was on a roll! "Dude, it was so gross," Danny whined. "Ectoplasm from specters has the consistency of partially set jello. But ectoplasmic _snot_?" Danny faked a hurl as Wade's chuckles died down. He heard the squeaks of the mattress springs and kept his eyes firmly forward as Wade made his way to the door, his bare feet slapping on he floor as he walked.

"Well, better make sure you don't die of starvation," Wade said, the shade bobbing with his movements as he walked into the kitchen and to the table.

"Jerk," Danny called out cheerfully, and pushed himself off the floor and hurried toward the kitchen. Now that he could see better, Wade was wearing similar sweat pants to the ones Peter wore and had pulled the hood up on his hoodie. It covered most of his face, leaving his mouth, nose and cheeks clearly visible while hiding his eyes. Danny had seen some of the scarring yesterday and the day before, but he never realized how far it reached until now. He sat in the chair opposite of Wade and tried not to let his eyes stray across his face, focusing on one point. Wade placed two doughnuts on the wrappers Danny had left over from before, then settled in the other chair to dig in.

"By the way," Danny said as he licked the icing off the powdered doughnut, "Peter gave me free reign over any left overs." He paused for a moment as the shade slinked down Wade's chest and sat on top of the table between his elbows.

"Jeez," Wade grumbled after biting into a Boston Creme and Danny's eyes skipped to their previous spot, "You're not even adopted yet and you're already eating me out of house and home."

"I normally don't eat this much," Danny admitted, nibbling on the doughnut. "But I have to keep my energy levels up somehow, and I only have a little left from my emergency stash."

"How does that work anyway?" Wade asked, and Danny glanced down as the shade stretched up and tried to inspect the rest of Wade's doughnut.

"Um," Danny said, dragging his eyes back up to Wade's head. "I'm not really sure? This is sorta the first time this has ever really happened. The town where I'm from is drenched in ambient ectoplasm, so my friends and I think I sorta just absorb it unintentionally when I'm in my human form. It's weird being this hungry."

"Peter might-," Wade started, then seemed to realize something and froze, clenching his mouth shut.

"Peter might?" Danny trailed off in question, taking another bite.

"... Peter might be able to figure it out," Wade said cautiously finishing the Boston Creme and reaching for a powdered one next.

"I'll have to ask him when he comes back," Danny replied, and the tension in Wade's shoulders relaxed.

"So he told you," Wade sighed, putting down the pastry and stuffing his hands in his pockets. Danny shrugged and glanced down to the shade again as it inched it's way towards the dropped confection.

"I kinda blindsided him when I told him I was coming back here and he couldn't do anything to stop me," Danny responded, refocusing on his own pastry, "I think he panicked."

"He would panic," Wade snorted, "The dork." Danny chuckled and they settled into comfortable silence, his attention straying to the (frankly) hilarious antics of the shade as it explored half of the table.

"Hey," Wade said suddenly, and Danny jumped. "Not to be off topic or anything but do I still have-, ah, that hitchhiker you mentioned yesterday?" Danny flushed and ducked his head.

"Sorry," Danny replied nervously, letting out a shaky laugh. "It's just being really distracting right now."

"What's it doing?" Wade asked after a moment. Danny froze in surprise then grinned in excitement.

"You want to see?" Danny asked eagerly.

"Um," Wade answered, leaning back in his chair slightly, "Sure?" Danny beamed, and started gathering his own ectoplasm in the tips of his fingers making them glow green, keeping the output low so they wouldn't develop into ectoblasts. The shade zeroed onto his fingers like a laser sight and Danny made a "Come here," motion with his hands. The shade floated softly over to his hands and started to mouth at the tips of his fingers, licking off the energy like a puppy licking peanut butter off a spoon. Danny carefully cupped his hands to cradle the shade, petting it's gelatinous body before bringing it close to his mouth.

Danny had been practicing this trick ever since he read one of his parent's papers on how temperature affected ghosts. He didn't quite understand all of the scientific laws but he got the basis; heat caused ghosts to destabilize and cold gave them a power boost. Reaching deep into his core, Danny built up something like his ghost sense in his throat; holding it back until the right moment. He breathed out a cold mist that frosted his hands a bit and was easily absorbed by the shade while it also lowered it's temperature. As he finished breathing out, the shade shivered in his hands before it's ectoplasmic body started to glow a toxic green like his eyes.

"Holy shit!" Wade shouted as he leapt from the table. The shade jumped into the air and turned to look at Wade, seeing that it had his complete attention. It trilled slightly before swirling around Danny's head, a tiny ghost tail highlighting it's path. "What's happening?" Wade asked.

"It's okay," Danny placated, guiding the shade to his fingers again, and letting it weave and twirl through them. "It's just happy. Not many shades can get to be this solid or be seen by people."

"And that thing has been _attached_ to me?" Wade asked shakily. Suddenly Danny got nervous and gently grabbing the shade out of the air like grabbing a baby bird, cupping it back in his hands and bringing it to his chest. The little shade whined as it tried to escape Danny's hands, but it was having trouble reaching for intangibility.

"It's not hurting you," Danny said sternly, and Wade flinched at his tone.

"You said it was _feeding_ off me!" Wade shot back.

"Yeah, on your emotions," Danny rebutted. "It's not a parasite! Emotions mimic electrical signals in the brain, and that gets imprinted on ectoplasm! It's just been hanging around you, not sucking out your soul!"

"Okay, okay," Wade said placatingly, slowly sitting back at the table. "Just calm down there a notch, chico." Danny realized his eyes were glowing uncontrollably again and the shade in his hands was trembling in fear. He closed his eyes and breathed out another cooling mist.

"Sorry," Danny whispered, and opened his hands. The shade floated up gingerly and then nuzzled his face before flying around Danny's head again, every once and a while hitting his cheek on accident as it tried to go intangible.

"You're protective of them," Wade observed. Danny sagged in his seat and nodded despondently, chewing on his lip anxiously as the shade started to fly closer and closer to Wade.

"My parents hunt and research ghosts for a living," Danny sighed, "But they think all ghosts are destructive and evil, even little guys like these; never mind the fact that most ghosts just want to be left alone. Shades are the weakest ghosts because their easy to destabilize; they just fade out of existence if they exert themselves too much. I try to protect most shades I find or bring them back to the ghost zone where they're safe. But I don't know if I could bring this one home while trying to hide it from my parents. It'll probably be safer with you until it becomes a specter." Wade slowly sat back in his chair, only flinching slightly when the shade got too close before he tentatively held out his hand. The shade quickly circled back and perched itself on his hand while making another happy trill, parts of its body slipping between his open fingers.

"It's cold," Wade observed, slowly bringing the little blob closer for inspection.

"I used my ice core to give it a little boost," Danny said scratching the back of his head. "Cold temperatures can temporarily bump up ectoenergy levels. It'll go invisible again in a few hours."

"You know," Wade said after a moment, "I'd never thought I'd say this about a blob of goo, but it is kinda cute." The shade trilled excitedly and flew off Wade's hand to perch itself on his shoulder, nuzzling his neck through his hood. "Okay, never mind-, this is still weird."

"It's trying to talk to you," Danny said fondly, and Wade stilled. "Shades can't communicate like other ghosts, so they share thoughts or intentions with each other by-, well, passing through each other I guess. Sometimes shades will sorta swarm around each other like a school of fish if they're excited. It's actually pretty cool to watch. If this one is trying to do that with you, it means it likes you."

"Not really much to like," Wade whispered sarcastically.

"Sure there is," Danny stated. "Peter and I like you plenty, and the shade attached itself to _you._ Looks like your pretty popular." Wade sighed, gently grabbing the shade and holding it at eye level. The shade chirped before slinking down to the abandoned doughnut. They both watched with interest as the shade inspected the confection, swirling and gliding around on the table before it chomped down and started to float up and drag it through the air towards Danny.

"Um," Wade stammered, "It's not trying to eat that, is it?"

"I don't think so," Danny replied as he stood up and leaned over the table. "I've never seen a shade do that before." Danny cupped his hands under the shade as it bobbed in it's flight path due to the weight of the pastry. It steadily made it's way to Danny's side and placed it's stolen treat with great care next to Danny's other doughnut on his wrappers. After depositing the pastry, it warbled and chirped before going back to Wade's side and settling on the table while Danny stared at it in disbelief. Did a shade really just bring him food like a cat bringing a dead mouse to it's owner?

"That's a good segue as any, I guess," Wade said as he patted the shade before turning his attention to Danny. "How much energy did you just blow off with your little 'Now you see it' trick?" Danny flushed and ducked his head in sheepish embarrassment.

"Way more than I probably should have," Danny admitted. "I kinda got carried away; I don't get to do it that often." Wade sighed, then grabbed another doughnut and leaned over the table to place it with the rest of Danny's pastries. He stood up and walked over to the fridge, the shade watching him curiously.

"Seriously," Wade grumbled as he opened the fridge and pulled out left over pizza. "House and home."

* * *

To say Peter was anxious to get back to the safe house was the understatement of the year. Danny's suggestion had worked well, but organizing a week off with J.J. had been more painful than pulling teeth and took way longer than he wanted it to. He had hoped to walk the streets a little before heading back to see if he could find the creeps that had mugged Danny, but J.J. had eaten up all of the extra time Peter wanted to spend and then some. Peter rushed out of the subway station and lightly jogged toward the apartment building, regretting not taking his suit this morning; he could've been back hours ago if he had used his webs. It wasn't that he didn't trust Danny, or Wade for that mater (Wade was surprisingly good with young kids and teenagers), it was just-! Sometimes Wade got _waspish_ when he was in a mood, and could say some harsh things to force people away when he wanted to be alone.

 _Although,_ Peter thought as the building finally came into view, _Danny looks like he could hold his own_. Peter wasn't 100% quite sure what to make of Danny. The first day they bumped into each other Danny seemed like a kid who had just met their idle, but was still unsure of himself and a little sad. Then they met on that rooftop, and Danny nervousness was quickly replaced by a willingness to trust, a snarky confidence, and dark humor that could rival Wade's. Yesterday was the biggest eye opener though; the forced calm and the detachment as he clinically explained how he was almost murdered spoke eons of how often Danny faced those types of situations. But what really impressed Peter was Danny's willingness to trust, giving them an actual name they could look up beside his alter ego, and it pushed Peter to give is own name in turn; trust was a two way street after all.

Peter used his key to open the apartment building's lobby door before heading towards the stairway and bounding up the steps. As he got closer to the unit, his spider sense tingled lightly along the back of his neck, just like it always did around Danny, before a different smaller prickle started along too. He paused as he opened the stairwell door on the fourth floor, then continued on the way to the unit. As he was searching for the correct key, he heard Wade through the door.

"Get back here you little-," Peter heard Wade exclaim. Anxiously finding the right key and turning it in he lock, Peter tried to brace himself for what he was about to walk into and opened the door.

It didn't help what so ever.

Danny was completely dead to the world, laying asleep on the table with his head cushioned by his arms. The doughnut box he had brought earlier was empty and laid abandoned on the other side of the table with the left over pizza box that housed a lonely pepperoni slice. Random cabinets and drawers were open in the kitchen and Wade was chasing what appeared to be a floating ball of goo. The little goo ball was holding on to what appeared to be a pen and a wayward spoon. It stilled and turned its attention to Peter when he opened the door, allowing Wade to catch it with his hands. A small section with eyes squeezed itself out of a gap between Wade's fingers and made a cooing sound.

"Oh, don't take that tone with me now, mister," Wade scolded the blob and turned around, catching site of Peter and freezing. They both paused for a moment before Wade cleared his throat.

"Um, hey Pete," Wade said nonchalantly and the little blob whistled a greeting as well.

"Wade," Peter answered as he closed the door. "I'm glad to see you out of bed." And he was; Peter expected to come back with Wade still locked in his bedroom, so to see him up and about was great. He could still tell Wade wasn't even close to a hundred percent; he was more subdued and kept his hood firmly over his eyes so most of his face was covered, but considering Wade usually wore his suite exclusively when he slipped into a depressive episodes, Peter counted it as a win.

But onto another important matter.

"What is that thing in your hand?" Peter asked, the prickle in his neck flaring when the blob chirped and squeezed itself out of Wade's hand, the pen and spoon dropping to the floor. It zipped over to hover in his face and Peter tried not to flinch. He had a hunch he new what this thing was.

"So, funny story, actually," Wade stammered as he shuffled towards them. "You know that shade Danny said was hanging around me?"

"Uh huh," Peter responded as the blob circled him, bumping into his shoulder every now and then.

"Tada?" Wade trailed off nervously, making unenthusiastic jazz hands while the shade, satisfied with it's apparent inspection, floated back over to Wade and nestled into a gap in his hood.

"Right," Peter replied, taking the explanation in stride. "Would that have anything to do with the aforementioned teenager passed out on the kitchen table?"

"No?" Wade started, then tried again when Peter stared him down, "And by no, I mean yes. But it was completely unintentional." Peter took a deep breath through his nose before kicking off his shoes and shuffling them out of the way.

"All right," Peter said, willing to drop the topic for now. He stepped over to Danny and started to shake his shoulder. "Time to wake up, kid." Danny groaned before sitting up and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"Peter?" Danny asked as he yawned. "What time is it?"

"A little over 11:30," Peter answered.

"Ah, shit!" Danny yelled and jumped up out of the chair, nearly plowing Peter over. "My parents wanted to have lunch with Jazz and I! I'm gonna be late!" Danny rushed to the door, Wade sidestepping so he wouldn't get run over as Danny pushed on his shoes. "Sorry about the mess and eating all your food," Danny stammered. "I'll pay you back tomorrow or something."

"Don't worry about it," Peter said, amused. Danny paused, sneaking Wade a quick hug that had him freezing in place before Danny stepped back and brought his hands up to make a quick motion. The shade flew over and settled between Danny's hands, making a sad sounding whine as Danny brought the shade closer to his face.

"Don't be sad," Danny said. "I'll be back tomorrow." Danny glanced up at Wade before bring his attention to the little blob in his hands. "Prizorgu lin por mi," he whispered, and the shade chirped and pushed itself up to connect lightly with Danny's forehead before returning to it's previous spot. "Bye Wade, bye Peter! I'll text you guys tomorrow!" Danny said as he opened and rushed out the door. The unit was quiet for a moment until Peter exhaled loudly.

"Well," Peter groaned as he started to clean up the kitchen, "That was a thing that happened." Wade snorted and walked over to the table, kicking a chair out and slumping down in the seat.

"Kid sure is something else," Wade replied. "Besides the whole ghost thing, I mean." Peter chuckled, stepping over to the counter to close the open cabinets and drawers. It was silent for a couple of minutes before Peter spoke again.

"How are you feeling right now?" Peter asked cautiously, coming over to sit across from Wade.

"Like I still wanna try catching a bullet with my teeth," Wade mumbled while playing with the strings of his hoodie, and Peter flinched. "Mostly because I want my thoughts to just shut up and less that I actually want to try and die." Peter took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"Thank you for telling me," Peter said. "Do you want me to stay?" Wade shrugged his shoulders, and the shade chirped noisily at him before Wade rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Yeah," Wade answered, "I guess I wouldn't mind company." Peter smiled at him and got up to root around in the fridge to see how much Danny had actually eaten.

"Hey Pete," Wade said, and Peter turned around to look at him. "Danny said something that I think you might want to know about." Peter gulped; that didn't sound ominous at all.

"Okay," Peter exhaled. "What is it?"

"Danny told me his parents hunt and research ghosts for a living," Wade revealed, and the shade trembled. It took a moment for the implications to sink in, and it turned Peter's blood cold.

"But," Peter stammered, "Danny _is_ a ghost. Or at least half of one."

"Uh huh," Wade agreed quietly. Peter clenched his fists after a moment before going back to the fridge.

"I'll figure something out," Peter said resolutely. Wade grinned from under his hood.

"I know you will," he replied.

**Author's Note:**

> All right everyone, let's welcome Fido to the family! A lot of people were commenting on how they liked the shade interacting with Wade, sooo... :p
> 
> Edit: HOLD THE FRICKEN' PHONES EVERYONE, WE HAVE [FANART](https://slime-bro-shiro.tumblr.com/post/637337709315260417/a-lil-warm-up-doodle-before-i-work-on-commissions)! Made by the wonderful [Slime-Bro](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Slime_Bro/pseuds/Slime_Bro). Jeez, this just fills my heart with joy.


End file.
